Not sure which airlines are at your disposal but I think I saw on an Expedia update I received recently that American Airlines does not charge a baggage fee for International flights.
We will be on Airtran having had to change Airlines after Air Jamaica changed their routes

I don't know if you'll get the "best" airline so much as the "least bad" airline - such is the state of flying today.

I believe most airlines still include one free checked bag (at least) when flying internationally.

Beyond that - it depends. Are you in a frequent flyer club for which you'll earn miles? Are you having to connect, or does your hometown airline fly direct? If you have to connect, you might consider that Atlanta is a very busy airport which is prone to delays and avoid Delta.

I'd just go by price and whether the bags are included, really. We've flown to Jamaica on American, Delta, Northwest, and US Air, and they were all pretty adequate and comparable. We've booked again on American, simply because it was the cheapest ticket.

All of the majors, except Southwest, are charging for bags. However, some have stipulations, like I have a certain credit card so Continental doesn't charge me the fees. Once you decide on an airline, check out their website for specific baggage fees.

The best airline depends on where you're flying out off - which airport?

For us, the best is Continental - it's cheap and direct. But that's because we live in Houston which is a Continental hub. When we lived in TN, Delta was the best for Jamaica. If you're in Chicago, Air Jamaica might be the best.

A good place to start for price comparisons across airlines is www.kayak.com

The "best" airline is the one that flies from your hometown airport with the most direct flight ( or a non stop ) to MBJ..

For us, that USED to be Air Jamaica...now we use American. We have only had to pay for the 5th bag, as most International flights allow each passenger 2 bags.

Not always true on the bag fees. US Airways basically considered Jamaica a "domestic" flight going down, and WILL charge for the bags. For some reason, flying back, they consider it an international flight, and only charge for the second bag. American considers Jamaica to be international, so you do get the one free bag (can't say about the second).

And to answer the basic question, "best" is in the eye of the beholder. Price; which airport might be used as a stopover (again, using US Airways as an example, Charlotte is splendid, Philadelphia is not); alternative airports you might use as a departure point; fees (which DO add up quickly - also consider what they might charge to reserve your seat ahead of time!); when you get to MoBay; how big a layover -- all are part of the decision.

Best is relative. My personal preference is American Airlines. My husband and I have had the best luck with them. Note: We also live near Chicago aren't really limited on who we can fly. If you're limited, then the decision's been made for you!

With my preference stated, the next person will probably post that they've had terrible experiences with American and they love US Air (with whom I've had NOTHING but trouble).

So...really, it all depends. YOu aren't going to find one that everyone thinks is the best.

Looks like you are probably interested in flights out of Indianapolis. Like us in Cincinnati, you won't have any direct flights. Your choices, with one stop seem to be: Delta through Memphis, Continental through Houston, US Air through Charlotte, and Air Tran through Orlando.

When we pick a flight we weigh our options based on cost, length of layover, least hassle for customs on the return, and arrival time in Montego Bay. We like to arrive as early as possible. We like US Air through Charlotte because customs there does not seem to take as long as say Atlanta or Miami. And Charlotte is relatively small and an easy airport to navigate. I've never done it, but I understand that Memphis is pretty quick and easy too.

I use this website ( http://matrix.itasoftware.com/ ) to see a listing of available flights for all the major airlines. It shows all the information that is important to us. To me the graphic representation is easiest to view and understand.

We've flown to Jamaica on Northwest/Delta, Air Jamaica, and Spirit. If you fly frequently enough, you know that you can have good and bad experiences on any airline. Sometimes, bad experiences are beyond the airline's control, such as when your destination airport shuts down due to bad weather.

We generally select an airline that offers a direct flight to MoBay. If more than one airline has a direct flight, our second criterion is the more convenient departure/arrival time, and our third criterion is cost.

Yes, the best airline is the one that can get you to Jamaica as fast as possible. We use US Air and it has always been great and we love that we get to MBJ in the A.M. so we have more time to have fun.

Thanks, everyone. We are flying out of Indy. It sounds like I'll want to see if American Airlines works as far as timing, since they have free baggage. I have been looking at times and note that some airlines have up to 6 hour layovers. No thanks!

It all depends what the ticket price is. Delta and American do not charge for bags if flying to Jamaica. The others do. Get the best price and factor in if they charge for bag or not. This year Delta was 200 cheaper for us and free bags. Two years ago it was USA Air.

Service wise they are all about the same, not great like the old days.